Karen Stachel Norbert Stachel & LehCats
Veteran saxophonist Norbert Stachel and multi flutist Karen Stachel perform with their LehCats band, combining modern jazz, funk, Afro/Latin, and world fusion music. Focusing on their original music, the Stachels have honed their vast and varied experiences into a seamless, melodically charged sound in LehCats.
Based in New York for the past two decades, Norbert Stachel spent much of his career as a first-call sideman, touring widely with acts like Prince, Sheila E, Boz Scaggs, Diana Ross, Tony! Toni! Toné!, Roy Hargrove, Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters, Freddy Hubbard, Ray Obiedo and Pete Escovedo. He also spent four years with Tower of Power.
Over the past decade he’s concentrated on co-leading LehCats with his wife, jazz-and-classical flutist Karen Stachel who has deep Bay Area ties. She was part of the burgeoning acid jazz scene of the early ‘90s, the Karen Anderson Jazztet featured guitarist John Schott and drummer Scott Amendola. Her eclectic resume includes New Amsterdam Symphony Orchestra, and trumpeter Wallace Roney’s 2016 project “Universe,” a previously unheard suite of music written for Miles Davis in 1968 by Wayne Shorter.
In 2024, LehCats Live @ The Breakroom with Giovanni Hidalgo is on the charts now. This week it is up to 33 on the jazz charts and it’s climbing.
Music
-
Power Tap (Live) 4:290:00/4:29
-
0:00/6:46
-
Mandela (Live) 7:060:00/7:06
Press photos
Live Video
Press / Reviews
LehCats is a vibrant music collective renowned for its bold fusion of Latin rhythms and contemporary influences. Blending elements of Latin jazz, salsa, and Afro-Cuban sounds, the group crafts a dynamic mix of tradition and innovation. With infectious grooves, intricate percussion, and rich melodic layers, LehCats delivers an exhilarating musical experience that embodies the energy and spirit of Latin culture. Their performances are fueled by improvisation and a deep connection with audiences, setting them apart as a compelling force in the world of Latin-inspired music.
On October 18, 2024, we did this performance at the Breakroom in San Jose, CA, not knowing that it was going to be recorded. (Live@TheBreakroom). Afterwards, we realized that it was a great opportunity to produce and release a new CD - including videos! It was so much fun and uplifting playing and spending time the the great Giovanni Hidalgo. He has such a loving and intuitively creative and positive presence. We all felt the good vibes, and you can feel and hear great moments of high intensity and spirited interactions between all of the wonderfully talented musicians captured on this unexpected recording.
Movement To Egalitaria salutes a fictional land where human rights reign supreme; sort of like the idealized (if somewhat lost) dream of the United States. Norbert Stachel is featured on flute, tenor (taking a fiery solo on “Step On It”), alto, soprano and bass clarinet while Karen Stachel is heard on flutes, piccolo and an occasional vocal. Among the other soloists who make strong impressions are pianists Axel Laugart and Edsel Gomez, guitarists Mike Stern (who is blazing on “Doppler Effect”) and Bob Lanzetti, and bassist Peter Washington. The large supporting cast includes such notables as drummer Lenny White, bassist Lennie Plaxico, guitarists Ray Obiedo and Will Bernard, and percussionist Pete Escovedo.
The music, even with its variety of rhythms, is primarily straight ahead (although with a few funkier selections), melodic and swinging. The fresh melodies, happy and optimistic vibes, and high musicianship make Movement To Egalitaria a musical journey well worth taking.
Los Angeles Jazz Scene - Scott Yanow
LehCats Stage Plot With Congas
LehCats Stage Plot With Piano
